Sir James Robert Dickson,
KCMGThe Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent whilst he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III. It is named in honour of two military saints, St. Michael and St...
(30 November 1832 – 10 January 1901) was an
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n politician and businessman, the 13th Premier of Queensland and a member of the first federal ministry.
Dickson was born in
PlymouthPlymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
,
DevonDevon is a large county in England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, although that is an unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county itself and often indicating a traditional or historical context. The county shares borders with Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to...
, and migrated initially to Victoria in 1854. He settled in
QueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia that occupies the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
in 1862, becoming an auctioneer. A wealthy and influential businessman, he was elected as a member of the
Queensland Legislative AssemblyThe Queensland Legislative Assembly is the unicameral chamber of the Parliament of Queensland. Elections are held approximately once every three years. Voting is by the Optional Preferential Voting form of the Alternative Vote system...
for Enoggera in 1873.
Sir James Robert Dickson,
KCMGThe Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent whilst he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III. It is named in honour of two military saints, St. Michael and St...
(30 November 1832 – 10 January 1901) was an
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n politician and businessman, the 13th Premier of Queensland and a member of the first federal ministry.
Dickson was born in
PlymouthPlymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
,
DevonDevon is a large county in England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, although that is an unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county itself and often indicating a traditional or historical context. The county shares borders with Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to...
, and migrated initially to Victoria in 1854. He settled in
QueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia that occupies the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
in 1862, becoming an auctioneer. A wealthy and influential businessman, he was elected as a member of the
Queensland Legislative AssemblyThe Queensland Legislative Assembly is the unicameral chamber of the Parliament of Queensland. Elections are held approximately once every three years. Voting is by the Optional Preferential Voting form of the Alternative Vote system...
for Enoggera in 1873. He was made Secretary for Public Works and Mines in 1876 under
Arthur MacalisterArthur Macalister, CMG was twice Premier of Queensland, Australia.-Early life:Macalister was born in Glasgow, Scotland, son of John Macalister, a cabinet maker, and his wife Mary, née Scoullar. Macalister was educated in Glasgow and emigrated to Australia with his wife Elizabeth Wallace née Tassie...
, and was Treasurer 1876-79. In the absence of Sir
Samuel GriffithSir Samuel Walker Griffith GCMG QC, was an Australian politician, Premier of Queensland, Chief Justice and a principal author of the Constitution of Australia.-Early life:...
he was briefly Opposition Leader, and was Treasurer again 1883-87 after Griffith became Premier. He lost his seat in 1888 but was again elected for Bulimba in 1892, supporting the importation of labourers from the
South PacificOceania is a geographical, often geopolitical, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Dumont d'Urville...
to work on the Queensland canefields.
In the so-called
Continuous MinistryThe Continuous Ministry or Continuous Cabinet was an informal designation used to describe the grouping in the Queensland Parliament that existed from 1890 to 1899, and provided six colonial-era Premiers of Queensland....
of the late 1890s, Dickson attained the positions of Secretary for Railways in 1897, Postmaster-General and Home Secretary 1898-99. In September 1898, after the death of
Thomas ByrnesThomas Byrnes may refer to:*Thomas Byrnes , Premier of Queensland*Thomas F. Byrnes, 19th century New York City Police inspector*Tommy Byrnes, American basketball playerSee also:* Thomas Byrne * Thomas Burns...
he was made Premier. The Continuous Ministry by this stage was falling apart, and Dickson had only a brief period in office before
Anderson DawsonAndrew Dawson , usually known as Anderson Dawson, was an Australian politician, the Premier of Queensland for one week in 1899...
gained the support of the Legislative Assembly to become the world's first elected
Labour PartyThe name Labour Party, or similar is used by several political parties around the world, particularly common in countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. They are most commonly, but not exclusively, social democrats or democratic socialists and have been traditionally allied to the Labour movement...
leader. The Ministerialists regrouped a week later to vote Dawson out of office. Dickson lacked support to become Premier again, and that position instead went to
Robert PhilpSir Robert Philp, KCMG was a Queensland businessman and politician who was Premier of Queensland from December 1899 to September 1903 and again from November 1907 to February 1908.-Early life:...
, in whose government Dickson was Chief Secretary.
Dickson was a leading supporter of federation in Queensland and was mainly responsible for winning a "yes" vote in the Queensland
referendumA referendum , ballot question, or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal...
on the proposed
Constitution of AustraliaThe Constitution of Australia is the supreme law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates. It consists of several documents. The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia...
in 1900. As a result, Dickson was appointed
Minister for DefenceThe Minister for Defence of Australia administers his portfolio through the Australian Defence Organisation, which comprises the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force. Senator John Faulkner is the current Minister....
in the
first federal ministryThe Barton Ministry was the first Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 1 January 1901 to 24 September 1903. The ministry was made up of Protectionist Party members....
under
Edmund BartonSir Edmund Barton, GCMG, KC , Australian politician and judge, was the first Prime Minister of Australia and a founding justice of the High Court of Australia....
on 1 January 1901. He was intending to stand for election to the first Federal Parliament, but on 10 January he died after being taken ill at the Commonwealth's inaugural ceremonies in Sydney on 1 January. He was the first federal Minister to die in office.
Honours
Dickson was appointed a Knight Commander of the
Order of St Michael and St GeorgeThe Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent whilst he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III. It is named in honour of two military saints, St. Michael and St...
on 1 January 1901, only nine days before he died. The
federal electoral division of DicksonThe Division of Dickson is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland, Australia. The division was formed in 1992 and is named after Sir James Dickson, a leading advocate in Australian Federation, Queensland Premier and Minister for Defence in first Australian Ministry...
in Queensland, and the
CanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth largest Australian city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory, south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
suburb of
DicksonDickson is a suburb in the Inner North of Canberra, Australia. It is named after Sir James Dickson who was a Queensland advocate of Australian Federation and one of the founders of the Australian Constitution...
are named after him.